Our WIP Alumni gathered in Custom House Belfast on 7 May for our first Alumni event in 2026, an In Conversation event with acclaimed journalist, Sam McBride.  

The event explored the topic of the new book by Sam and Fintan O’Toole, 'For and Against a United Ireland’, commissioned by ARINS (Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South), a joint partnership between the University of Notre Dame and the Royal Irish Academy.  We were very grateful to Susie Deedigan, ARINS Project Manager for providing an overview of the objectives of the Project.

We were also delighted to welcome WIP Alumni, Holly Watson (WIP Class of 2023, Journalist and currently Researcher at Waddell Media) who moderated a lively question and answer session! Many of our Alumni reflected on how much they appreciated the opportunity to engage in the discussion and in true WIP style, to hear a range of viewpoints from all sides of the debate.  

A huge thank you to Sam, Holly and Susie for their participation and to our Alumni for their attendance and thoughtful questions.